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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29887137">a new leaf</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby'>helsinkibaby</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Hawaii Five-0 season 10, Het, Magnum season 2, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:54:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,513</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29887137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a horrendous Halloween night, Gordon and Noelani arrive home.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Noelani Cunha/Gordon Katsumoto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>1 Million Words' A to Z Challenge</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a new leaf</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the one million words a-z challenge. H Is for Halloween, hugs and home. </p><p>The idea for this came when rewatching the season 2Magnum Halloween episode and realising that it would take place the same night as the Hawaii Five 0 episode from season 10, which had a nice bit of Noelani in it. Once I realised that, the rest came together quickly.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The hallmarks of Halloween being over were clearly visible on the streets Katsumoto drove through early on the first morning of November. From decorations half taken down, to toilet paper fluttering merrily from trees, to candy wrappers skittering along the pavement, there was definitely no doubt that a good time had been had by all. </p><p>Apart from Katsumoto, that is. </p><p>Apprehending an escaped serial killer hadn’t been his first choice of how to spend the evening, and spending the rest of the night at the hospital, waiting for news of his injured partner had been even more unwelcome. Next year, he decided, he was going to turn off the lights, lock the door and sleep through the whole thing. </p><p>Don’t mention sleep, he thought to himself as he flicked on his turn signal and turned into a quiet residential street. It wouldn’t do to give his tired brain ideas, not for another few minutes at least. </p><p>Putting the car into park, he made his way to the front door, rang the doorbell and waited. He’d called when he was leaving the hospital and his wasn’t the only car on the driveway so he knew there was someone home. It wasn’t outside the bounds of possibility that she’d already fallen asleep; he’d give it a couple of minutes, he decided, then use the spare key. </p><p>He didn’t have to wait too long though, the door opening to reveal a very tired looking, yet still smiling, Noelani. “Hey, you,” she said, stepping back to let him in. </p><p>“Hey.” He took care of business first, unclipping his service weapon and shield, placing them safely in the drawer of the hall table. Hanging up his jacket on the coat rack, he could hear her turning the locks on the front door and when he turned, she was leaning back against it like it was the only thing holding her up. His eyes ran the length of her body and he could feel his lips begin to twitch. “Nice shirt.” </p><p>Well might he have said that, considering it was one of his, one he’d worn a few days ago and left at her place. Falling to just above her knees, she’d rolled up the sleeves and as she grinned at him, she pulled at the collar, drawing his attention to the fact that only a few of the buttons were fastened. “This old thing?” she asked, her grin widening as he stepped towards her, his hands falling to her hips, pinching at the material of the shirt. “Just something I found lying around.” </p><p>“Well, it looks good on you.” He slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a hug and she went willingly, burying her head in his chest as she wrapped her arms around him too. Closing his eyes, he let his head drop, pressing his lips into the junction of her neck and shoulder, enjoying how it made her shiver. </p><p>“How’s Palima?” he heard her ask after a minute and that was what made him lift his head. </p><p>“He’s okay. Out of surgery, awake and talking. His wife and son were there when I left.” </p><p>She breathed a sigh of relief, one of her hands going to his chest, playing with the buttons of the shirt he wore. “Thank goodness.”</p><p>“How are you?” Katsumoto knew he wasn’t the only one who’d had a hell of a night. She was supposed to have been at a Halloween party, had spent weeks working on her Elton John costume. The chance to reunite with her predecessor, Max Bergman, had been the icing on the cake for her and she’d been looking forward to the night even more than she normally did, Halloween being her favourite holiday.  Things hadn’t gone to plan though, for many different reasons and through brief calls with her throughout the night, combined with scuttlebutt from other HPD personnel, he had a pretty good idea that Noelani’s horrendous Halloween might just have his beat.  The way she groaned, leaned into him and let her forehead fall into his chest certainly bore that out. </p><p>“A stolen body, two killers to autopsy, followed by an autopsy on the stolen body that Five-0 eventually found...” He tightened his arms around her, still able to hear the utter dejection in her voice when he’d talked to her earlier. “And it turns out those two men were killed by Lana Nakua’s sister.” This time when she lifted her head, there was a thin film of tears covering her eyes. He hadn’t known that detail and he felt his stomach twist painfully. “I was talking to the Nakuas, they were so distraught over losing one daughter... and now...” Her voice broke and she pressed her lips together, her whole body trembling, so he did the only thing he could do, pulled her back into his arms and held her, running one hand over her hair and the other up and down her back. </p><p>It seemed to work because when her trembling subsided, she lifted her head and gave him a wan smile. “Next time, I’m staying at the party,” she said and he chuckled as he cupped her face in his hands. </p><p>“No, you’re not,” he said, brushing his lips gently over hers. </p><p>“No, I’m not.” He wasn’t the least bit surprised by the admission. He understood all too well the hold a case could have over you, the same way that she understood it better than anyone he’d ever dated. So her next words, as she closed her hands over his wrists, her thumbs moving up and down his skin, weren’t a surprise either. “I could sleep for a week though.” </p><p>It wasn’t his first choice of activity but given what she’d been through, it was entirely understandable. And, if he was honest, sleep was pretty much all he was ready for too. “Then lead on,” he grinned as she brought his hands down, entwining her fingers with his as she started to lead him back towards her bedroom. </p><p>Once there, she turned back towards him, her fingers returning to the buttons of the shirt he was wearing, making short work of undoing them, pushing the material back off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor  His hands moved through her hair, tangling in the long strands and she made a sound that was almost like a purr before he undid the few buttons she’d fastened on the shirt she was wearing, letting it too fall to the floor. Trousers came next and then he was crawling into bed beside her, arranging themselves so that he was lying on his back, her head pillowed on his chest. Her sigh of contentment raised goosebumps in its wake as it moved across his skin and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, fingers once again moving through her hair. </p><p>“I almost forgot,” he said as a thought occurred to him. “I made plans with Dennis for Saturday morning... we’re going to Cinnamon’s for pancakes.” </p><p>“That’s great,” she said, tilting her head up, her smile bright. Then she giggled, a sound followed immediately by a yawn. There was another giggle as she nuzzled into his chest. “Just make sure you bring me back a stack of chiffon pancakes or don’t bother coming home.” </p><p>Her voice was light and he knew that she was teasing him but the last word hit hard for him and his fingers stilled in her hair. “Okay,” he said and she must have heard something in his voice because she lifted her head, eyebrows drawing into a frown at whatever she saw on his face. </p><p>“Gordon...” Her voice was very soft. “It’s just a saying.”</p><p>He knew why she was saying that. Because they were taking things slowly, were being very careful not to move too fast. They’d been friends, had worked together before things had changed for them and they were both aware of how awkward things could get if things ended badly. The fact that he was also bringing a teenage son and an ex-wife to the table hadn’t been lost on him either. They’d talked about this, more than once, they were both very much on the same page on that. </p><p>Except he realised now, somewhere along the line, he’d turned over a new leaf. </p><p>Because he’d just had one of the worst nights he’d had in a very long time and there was nowhere else in the world he’d wanted to be than here, in her arms. He was realising too that he wouldn’t mind if every bad day ended like this, every good one too. </p><p>“No.” His voice was just as soft, his hand going to her cheek, his thumb sweeping up and down. “It’s not.” </p><p>She held his gaze for a long moment, then she pushed herself up, brought her lips to his. “Okay,” she whispered, that same bright smile on her face as she settled once more against his chest, her body close to his, their legs tangling together. </p><p>Both of them were asleep within minutes.</p>
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